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Video: Gen. Petraeus: Koran burning would endanger troops

Transcript of: Gen. Petraeus: Koran burning would endanger troops

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:Now we turn to the recent upswing in anti-Muslim activity in this country. Now we're seeing it sparking anti-American anger in some places. And with the 9/11 anniversary approaching, the best-known active duty four-
star general
,
David Petraeus
, the top US commander in
Afghanistan
, is issuing a strong warning to a pastor who says he's planning a
Quran
burning this weekend. The
Obama
administration is calling his threat un-American. We get more on all of it tonight from our chief foreign correspondent
Richard Engel
.

RICHARD ENGEL reporting:Demonstrators in
Kabul
angrily denouncing the
United States
. They burned flags and effigies and pelted stones at a passing
US military
convoy.
Kabul
, once one of the most isolated cities, is no longer cut off. The demonstrators were reacting to a tiny church in
Gainesville
,
Florida
. With just a few dozen members, the church has made headlines and
Internet
chatter with its anti-Muslim slogans and its plans to burn copies of the
Quran
on 9/11.

Mr. TERRY JONES:We are going to have a international
Burn
a
Quran Day
.

ENGEL:Church leader
Terry Jones
says the goal is to stand up to
Islamic extremism
.

Mr. JONES:We believe our president plays it down. We believe that people are afraid of
radical Islam
. They're afraid to confront it.

ENGEL:But the American commander in
Afghanistan
doesn't agree.
General David Petraeus
said the image of
Americans
burning a
Quran
could harm
US troops
and the war effort. In a statement today,
Petraeus
said, "The safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy, and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult."
Americans
burning a
Quran
, the
general
said, could be used as a propaganda tool and goes against the
US military
's mission to win over the
Afghan people
. Today the
White House
said it agrees with
General Petraeus
.

Mr. ROBERT GIBBS (White House Press Secretary):Any type of activity like that would be -- that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration.

ENGEL:And the
State Department
called the proposed
Quran
burnings un-American.

Mr. P.J. CROWLEY (United States State Department Spokesman):We think that these are provocative acts, they are disrespectful, they're intolerant, they're divisive.

ENGEL:And polls suggest few
Americans
support anti-Muslim activities. The timing of this,
Brian
, is especially sensitive. The anniversary of 9/11 is just a few days away. It also coincidentally falls at the end of
Ramadan
, which is a
Muslim holiday
. So you could have a small group of
Americans
burning
Qurans
on a
Muslim holiday
on the 9/11 anniversary.

WILLIAMS:A lot of people asking for a cooling down period.
Richard Engel
here with us in
New York
.
Richard
, thanks, as always.